Hermione in Paris
by EstherGreenwood92
Summary: Lavender and Parvati tell Hermione to check out a particular shop in Paris that will undoubtedly help her sort out her love life. Rated M.
1. Chapter 1

**Hermione in Paris**

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Lavender and Parvati tell Hermione to check out a particular shop in Paris that will undoubtedly help her sort out her own love life.

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This story is set during Hermione's seventh year at Hogwarts. It goes along with the idea that Voldemort never regained his body during their fourth year, and as such all the events concerning Harry and Voldemort during their fifth, sixth and seventh years never occurred. Animosity between the houses decreased as the students grew older, and the relationship between Slytherin and Gryffindor house grew much more amicable because there was no war going on.

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**Chapter I**

Hermione had an idea; and it wasn't the most proper, lady-like thing one might do if they were Head Girl.

But Hermione was tired of keeping up with her proper, good-girl image. For once she wanted to do something for herself, rather than the other way around: she was sick of tending to everyone else's whim or recurring need.

She had heard all about Parvati and Lavender's excursions with the opposite sex, and she was so bored about hearing about their latest lust interest. It seemed like every time she walked into their dorm room, Parvati and Lavender would be there, talking openly about their latest conquests. And every time, they would just continue talking, not making any point to conceal what or rather who they were talking about.

As a result, Hermione had heard in detail what _really_ lay under the majority of the various Quidditch player's robes in the school from their year. She was really getting sick of the fact that she couldn't contribute much to their conversation.

Oh, she had some—she had kissed Viktor a couple of times during their fourth year, but apart from those, zilch. It made her seem like some old, withering aunt who lived alone with massive amounts of cats. And, that's not what she wanted from life.

The next time she saw lavender and Parvati discussing their sex lives, she resolved to ask them something.

It was the winter holidays, and Hermione was in Paris of all places. The Weasleys had invited her over to the Burrow the following week, but until then, she was in Paris with her parents for a weeklong vacation. She spent so little time with her parents nowadays; they were wonderful people but Hermione had acclimated to life at Hogwarts and felt that sometimes life at home was too dull and her parents a bit too overbearing. She loved her parents irrevocably and did enjoy spending time with them, but she was almost seventeen now and had a life of her own.

One of the things Hermione liked about being born into the muggle world was the fact that she had the ability to blend into both the muggle and wizarding world when she needed to. She doubted that Ron could handle roaming around London, let alone Paris without any help. Being a witch with a muggle background gave her what seemed to be the best of both worlds. It allowed her to have an air of anonymity when she wanted it. And, she soon would be of age which would change everything. In a couple of months she would graduate, travel all around Europe and not have a care in the world.

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The fact that her parents had chosen Paris of all places for their weeklong vacation fitted perfectly in Hermione's plans. She was old enough to want to go around Paris by herself, and old enough to convince her parents that she could manage by herself. The Grangers had always allowed her a lot of freedom when she was younger. Since she was a witch, there really was no question of her safety as she was a witch and could perfectly deal with any wayward muggle.

One afternoon when her parents had an afternoon planned at a fancy bistro, Hermione had set off to do some serious shopping. She wasn't one for fashion, but Parvati and Lavender were and they had absolutely raved about one store in Paris that they had only heard about but never visited. Nevertheless, when Hermione told them about her travel plans, and in lieu of her recent decisions concerning her lack of love life, her fellow Gryffindors told her that there was one store that she _absolutely_ had to visit.

When Hermione stepped inside the lingerie boutique she at first noted the atmosphere of the place and felt out of her depth. The floor was covered by a thick, ivory carpet. The walls were lined with oil paintings depicting various pastoral scenes. The tables were draped in light pink tulle. The room was lit by brilliant wall sconces and a couple of chandeliers which were positioned over circular tables, showcasing frilly and lacy undergarments. When she stepped off the street and into the shop, a sales woman, dressed chicly in black with a messy blonde bun looked her way. Hermione smiled and gave a tentative "bonjour" in the woman's direction.

Hermione moved to the nearest table and picked up one of the bras nearest to her. It was pale pink and made of a completely see-through mesh. The accompanying underwear was made of the same material, and Hermione tried to imagine herself wearing it. She couldn't.

"Do you need assistance, mademoiselle?"

Hermione looked up to see the sales lady looking at her expectantly.

Hermione smiled and said hesitantly,

"Oh, yes actually I do. I'd like to buy a lingerie set."

The woman smiled, "Très bien. Are you familiar with our sizes?"

"No, I don't think I am."

"Okay then, please follow me…"

Hermione followed the woman into the back of the store, passed assortments of bras, and other frilly articles of clothing. The woman led her into a dressing room and Hermione followed her in.

"I need to go get a measuring tape, but in the meantime, you will need to remove your shirt for the fitting. I'll be right back."

The woman whisked off, leaving Hermione in the room. She felt a bit awkward, but as it was standard procedure, she just went along with it. A few moments later, there was a knock on the door.

"Mademoiselle?"

"Yes," Hermione called and the woman opened the door, carrying a measuring tape.

"Bon, now if you would lift your arms…"

Hermione did as she was told, and the woman took her measurements, around her bust, under and above. The woman was very quick, and in no time she was done.

"Bon, you are a UK size 32D which translates to an 85D in our sizes."

The woman picked up her measuring tape and said in her French accent,

"Let me know if you need any other help."

Hermione spent the next fifteen minutes browsing around the shop, wondering how much of her Christmas money she could let herself spend on lingerie without feeling like some tarty idiot. Hermione rarely indulged on anything, and thought that maybe this was the time to. After all, it wasn't like she was going to buy a ball gown and only wear it once. She was getting a bra: an everyday necessity. Anyway, she hadn't bought a new one in a while. She had checked some of the price tags on some of the less excessive pieces and they still were double what she usually spent on bras and underwear.

Hermione's bras and underwear were simple and very basic; they mainly consisted of white cotton and didn't have much oomph to them at all. She didn't even own a push up bra, for crying out loud. But she wasn't here to buy anything ordinary—even if she could find anything that qualified for ordinary in her book. Lavender and Parvati had encouraged her to try coming here and she had conceded that it wouldn't hurt just to try.

She had decided to pick a couple of bras to try on. She had picked out three, and they ranked differently in levels of price and extravagance. The first one was a white lace bra, with molded cups. It looked very delicate and sweet, and she could hypothetically see herself in it. It also at least could be an everyday bra, which may or may not be a good thing.

The second bra she had chosen was another lace bra, but this one was cherry red. Nestled between the cups was a little red satin bow. It had scalloped edges and the cups were see through. She absolutely loved the color; it brought to mind her favorite cherry chapstick color and the cherry flavor of muggle jolly ranchers.

The third bra was another white bra, but this one had little lilac flowers adorned over the whole thing. The sides were the same lilac color, but it was made out of a sheer mesh fabric. This one was slightly padded and came with removable straps. She really couldn't decide which one she liked the best, so she headed back to her changing room and closed the door. She dumped her purse and coat on the satin lined chair and started to undress. She stood in front of antique gilt mirror in her jeans and bra before deciding to just take her shoes and jeans off too. She just felt that she needed to be a blank slate so she could fully see what the bra would look like.

So Hermione stood in the dressing room just in her underwear, looking at the three bra's hooked on the back of the door. She grabbed the white one first of the hanger and put it on, her back to the mirror. She closed her eyes and turned around and opened them. She immediately felt sensual; there was something about wearing this bra that was completely different from wearing her normal department store bras. The white bra gave her a minute lift, and she lightly jumped up and down on the plush carpet to see if there was any jiggle, which there was. But there was a problem; the cups themselves were too high up and it wasn't so flattering on her. The fit was fine, but this wasn't going to be the bra for her today.

She then reached for the red, candy colored one. She did the same thing, eyes closed until she had it fully on. When she saw herself for the first time, she knew that this was the one she had to have. If she had felt good about herself in the other bra, that was nothing to how this one felt. This bra complimented her slightly tanned skin tone perfectly. The cups exposed more of her skin which felt better than the other one did. This one had a tiny bit of padding, which gave her just a bit of cleavage. She felt sexy; there was no denying that feeling.

She reached up and took her hair out of the pony tail and messed it up a bit. She just looked in the mirror, wondering why she hadn't tried this before. She felt oddly empowered and confident. She could actually wear this under most of her shirts for school too, with all those chunky sweaters and cardigans she had. She felt a bit naughty thinking about going into Potions wearing a bright red, lacy bra. It seemed as though she was discovering a different side to herself.

After a few more moments just looking at her reflection in the mirror, she reluctantly look of the cherry red bra and changed back into her regular clothes. She didn't even bother trying on the third one. She went back over to the table with the underwear that went with the bra, and had a choice between sheer, lacy boy shorts or a lace thong. She checked the price tags, to see what was more economical. Oddly, they were the same price even though there was far less material on the thong. She had enough money for both pairs so she decided on getting both. She made her way up to the cashier and handed over her items.

A half an hour later, she was back at the hotel room. Her parents were still out and she was in front of the full length mirror modeling her newly purchased bra and thong. She couldn't wait until she got back to school so she could put her plan into action.

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Please review! Tell me what you think! I love getting feedback!

I updated this chapter as of 2/9/13, got rid of lesser sentences and changed words around. I hope to get chapter 3 out by next weekend, if all goes to plan.


	2. Chapter 2

**Hermione in Paris **

**Chapter II**

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Hermione closed the door of the girl's dormitory. She took off her hat and coat and brushed the snow that hadn't yet melted off. It was always nice coming back to Hogwarts after a long break. She had to admit that even after Paris, there was a different, but still equal comfort of being back at the castle.

It had been a good holiday break; the time she had spent with the Weasleys had been entertaining as always. Her last couple of Parisian days had been great as well. During her time there, she had discovered that she had a liking for coffee. She had always hated the stuff, much preferring a tea with milk to coffee, but her mum had insisted that she try a sip of her latte, and Hermione had discovered that she liked it. Other discoveries followed; it seemed as though the city had intoxicated her and somehow injected a different person into herself. Or maybe she had been this way all along, and hadn't realized it until now. In any case, Hermione felt like a refreshed version of herself, and was entirely content with it.

Paris and London had different atmospheres altogether. She found that Parisians had a total different attitude to daily life and each other than the British did. It seemed to Hermione that Parisians had a different way of living essentially; everything was more intimate. This applied to greeting shopkeepers to talking with your waiter. Parisians interacted differently in general, it was hard to explain, but it felt like she had been witnessing real people, living their lives unashamedly. Maybe it struck her so strongly because she hadn't known any other life than the one inside the Hogwarts walls, but the reality of Paris was exhilarating.

She hadn't expected to go to Paris and have this minor epiphany of sorts, but it certainly felt like Parisians were always living life to the fullest; carpe diem, and all that. During their breakfasts, she would always see a lot of student aged boys and girls chatting over their cappuccinos and cigarettes, discussing who knows what. But it had always seemed like it had been important, even if it was just recounting the previous night's revelries, judging by their

She was tired of living just because that's what you were meant to do. It all linked back with her line of being good for the sake of it. Another thing which she had noticed— everyone in Paris smoked. She had never smoked in her life, why would she? She didn't know anyone who smoked at Hogwarts, but everyone she had passed seemed to have a slim white cigarette between their fingers. She had never, ever considered smoking, because it was so bad for you. But now, she wouldn't be so adverse to trying it. Why? She didn't really know. She maybe thought, as she lay on her bed, that this whole turn of events had all began at the lingerie shop. She supposed that it had started when she had opened her eyes and saw her reflection in that changing room mirror.

Hermione was still horizontal on the bed when she heard the door open. She couldn't see who it was because of the bed curtain, but before she had time to straighten up, Lavender and Parvati's faces were there, peering around excitedly at her.

"Hermione!"

"How was your break?" Lavender said.

"Good, it was just what I needed." Hermione said "How were both of your breaks?"

"Oh, a bit dull." Lavender said as she climbed onto Hermione's bed. "We had the entire family round our place, which left me with very little alone time. It's so nice to be back here and away from my Great Uncle Harold who has the same exact conversation with every time I talk to him: what books are you reading, how is school, what are you learning, what are you going to do with your life, you know, in my day… "

She trailed off and shook her head exasperatedly.

"But how was yours!" Parvati chimed. "How was the most romantic city in the world?"

"Oh, yes! Please tell me that you had a Parisian fling with some charming, hot art student named Jacques or something!" Lavender said with her eyes full of hope.

"No such luck, sorry. I was with my parents most of the time, not a lot of dating opportunities with mum and dad hovering around."

Both of their faces fell and Parvati said, "Aw, you're no fun."

"I did however go to that store that you two were raving about."

"Brilliant; please, please tell me you bought something!"

Hermione grinned, "I did, wait…"

And with that, she got up and opened the top of her dresser, thinking about the house-elf who must have seen and put away her latest purchase. She blushed a bit at the thought. The cherry colored set was right at the top. She pulled the bra out and the two pairs of underwear and held them up to show the other girls.

"What do you think?"

"Oh. My. God." Lavender said, and reached out and took the bra

"Merlin, Hermione! I'd never would have guessed you were a thong girl!" Parvati giggled.

Hermione blushed a bit. "Well you know, I thought, why the hell not?"

"So true!" Parvati said.

"Now all you need is someone to appreciate this fine lace." Lavender said with a grin.

"Yes, I was thinking about that. Did you two come up with any ideas?"

"Yup, we sure did." Parvati said excitedly.

"I was thinking of throwing a back-to-school, end-of-holidays party in the Room of Requirement." Lavender said grinning.

"Yeah, you know everyone from our year and a select few from the years below. The usual set up; butter beer, fire whiskey, maybe some muggle alcohol…" Finished Parvati.

"How did you get muggle alcohol?" Hermione asked, sitting back down on the bed.

"Well," Parvati said, "Over the break my family and I went to visit our relatives and one night, Padma and I went into the village with our cousins. We met up with some of their friends who had some tequila and gin and we just drank and smoked in the park on New Year's eve."

"Really?" Hermione tried to not look so surprised, but she didn't think she pulled it off well.

"Oh yeah, we do it all the time. Our parents either just don't really care that we're sneaking out, or they just don't notice. Either way really." She shrugged.

"Huh." Hermione knew if she had tried that and had got caught, her parents would have definitely cared.

"So," Lavender said, "You bring your cigs and the booze, and with a couple of replenishing charms we should be good for the evening!"

"Okay, wow." Hermione said.

She perhaps hadn't expected that it would be so soon, or maybe she just wasn't expecting a huge party, but she couldn't deny that she wasn't excited about the prospect of loosening up a bit.

"Parvati and I have already told a bunch of people; Ginny, Seamus, Dean, Ron and Harry, the whole Ravenclaw Quidditch team, Pansy Parkinson… you name it, everyone's coming!"

"Wow," Hermione repeated "You weren't kidding."

"Nope!" Lavender exclaimed. "You asked for guidance, and Parvati and I are acting as your fairy god mothers tonight, so whatever you need!"

Parvati smiled and said, "We're serious, and just glad that you've finally decided to make an effort!"

"And touched that you came to us!" Lavender added.

"Well… you know." Hermione didn't quite know what to say at that but smiled up at them which seemed to be enough.

"Come on Lavender, we've got to go hunt down that hot Hufflepuff I hooked up with a week ago…"

And with that, they left Hermione alone. The only question what on earth she was going to be wearing over her lingerie that night.

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**Review Please!**


	3. Chapter 3

**Hermione in Paris**

**Chapter III**

Hermione unconsciously bit her lip and came to a halt as she approached the seventh floor corridor.

"Hermione, would you loosen up already? I can practically hear your negative thoughts working away up there," Lavender hissed. "Now, move!"

She scanned the dark corridor again but the only signs of movement came from the candles flickering from their brackets along the walls. She inhaled slowly and began to creep along the hall, clutching her robe about her.

Lavender had told her that older Gryffindor students had told her and Parvati of the Room of Requirement's existence a year ago. It seemed as though the knowledge of the Room had passed through the generations of Hogwarts students. Lavender had also explained to her how the Room's magic worked. Simply, it would become exactly what the wisher desired. Hermione had found the idea completely intriguing.

She curiously watched as Parvati turned her attention to the expanse of blank wall before her and quickly passed some particular spot three times. Suddenly, and seemingly out of nowhere, a heavy-looking wooden door appeared without a sound. Parvati gave the others a conspiratorial wink and pushed through into the room beyond.

It was quite dark— that was the first thing Hermione noticed. The only major source of light came from a pair of paneled glass French doors at the other end of the room. Dusky night light shone directly onto the furniture arranged before her. The room looked like a cozy den with mismatched furniture from what looked like the entire history of Hogwart's life. There were sofas, chaise loungers, low coffee tables and end tables positioned harmoniously around the room.

Above their heads sparkled dimly lit chandeliers which reminded her of the ones she had seen in the lingerie shop over the break. What looked like a pair of ornate eighteenth century candlesticks had been put on top of a very old and much abused school desk. Next to it, a dusty maroon velvet loveseat sat. It was like this all over the room, which itself was three times the size of the Gryffindor common room. The walls were bare stone which contrasted with the rich wooden floor boards.

In the center of the conglomeration of furniture, there was a huge heavy looking drinks cabinet with crystal goblets glinting welcomingly on its low marble countertop in the dusty light.

Hermione passed through the array of furniture and stepped out onto the terrace beyond. The fresh air hit her and she smiled. She glanced around at the grounds below them and realized that they were quite far up. She guessed that it was part of the room's magic to provide a unique balcony, for it seemed that she was as high up as she would be if she were atop the Astronomy Tower. The view of the mountains and lakes out before her were covered by a cloudy haze. Bits of the setting sun peaked through the white expanse and gave the mist a range of pastel colors. She turned as she heard her name being called from indoors, and stepped back into the room.

Lavender and Parvati were waiting expectantly, with identical grinning faces. They also both had discarded their robes. Lavender was wearing a pale pink, baby doll dress with frills all over it. She had paired it with bright pink pumps and lots of mascara. Parvati conversely was wearing a tight fitted navy colored dress which complimented her tanned skin perfectly. She too was wearing heels and dark red lipstick.

"Where did you two put your robes?"

"Over there."

Hermione's eyes followed to where Lavender was pointing and saw a line of hooks against the wall. She quickly hung up her robe and took the proffered drink from Parvati.

"Thanks." She said, grinning.

"Well, cheers everyone!"

"Here's to being back at school…actually, scratch that. Here's to the first of many Room of Requirement parties— much more exciting." Parvati said.

"And what better way to celebrate than with champagne?"

Hermione laughed and took a sip of the champagne, which she found she rather enjoyed.

"So, Hermione" Parvati said as Lavender topped up their glasses, "Did you wear your sexy lingerie for anyone special tonight?"

Hermione gave a secretive smile and just said, "You'll just have to wait and see."

"Oh you— Lavender, I do believe we've created a monster."

Lavender laughed as she set the bottle down.

"Oh if you must know, I don't have anyone in mind."

"Well, tonight's the night to find someone..." Lavender trailed off as the three girls turned around at the sound of the door opening.

Lavender gave an excited squeal as she ran over to meet the group that just walked through the door. Hermione downed her champagne in one before going over to see who was first to arrive. There were half a dozen people standing around, and in the forefront one of Hermione's best girlfriends.

"Ginny!"

"Merlin, Hermione, you look great! Where did you get that dress? It's fab!"

"I borrowed it from Parvati. You don't think it's too much?"

"No, no! It's very you—love what you've done to your hair too."

"Thanks, took me ages. Want a drink?"

"Yes!" Ginny said, grinning.

Hermione linked arms with her friend and dragged her over to the drinks cabinet and began pouring out another glass of champagne.

"So, Ginny, who else is coming that you know of?"

"Dean, Seamus, and most of the Gryffindor seventh and sixth years…then there's everyone on our Quidditch team. Apart from that I'm not sure exactly, but I expect Parvati and Lavender have told pretty much everyone."

"Oh, I know they have." Hermione said. "So, how's it going with Harry?"

Ginny's eyes sort of glazed over and she sighed.

"Oh Hermione, it's just so great."

And that set Ginny off on a long discussion of their relationship. Harry and Ginny were still in the beginning stages of their relationship, so everything was still quite new.

Hermione rather felt like she was out of her depths when it came down to talking with Ginny about her relationship since she really didn't have any boyfriend experience. On the other hand, Harry was one of her best friends so she could give Ginny some insight. She nodded in all the right places tried to give helpful comments.

"But enough about me, how are you doing? I know I just saw you the other week but you didn't say anything about hanging out with Lavender and Parvati at all!"

Ginny didn't have to actually say what she meant; Hermione knew exactly what was going on in her head. Lavender and Parvati had something of a scandalous reputation around Hogwarts, and before this year Hermione had never really hung out with them. She knew what Ginny was implying and she really didn't want to talk about it right then.

"Oh, well, they were talking about throwing a party in the dorm the other day and they asked me if I had ever heard about this place, that's all."

"Right, well good for them thinking of this. Sometimes it's nice to dress up and do something different, don't you think?" Ginny asked.

"Yes, and what's more is the fact that I can't believe that I just have a couple more months of school before I graduate." Hermione mused as she stared into the depths of her champagne glass.

"I know, I'm so going to miss you next year!" Ginny pouted. "You're going to be off doing extraordinarily exciting things and I'm going to be here, drowning in my studies…ugh."

Hermione felt the usual jump in her stomach when she thought about her impending N.E.W.T. examinations coming up.

"Oh don't remind me of my coursework! Let's talk about anything else. Oh I know— come on I'll show you the view outside."

Hermione grabbed the other girl's arm and led her onto the terrace beyond.

"Isn't it marvelous? I still can't believe that the Room will accommodate any wish, it's pretty extraordinary."

"Agreed. Hmmm, so if I wished for a bottle of vintage red wine…?"

The two girls heard a voice come up behind them.

"I'm afraid the Room doesn't do food or drink," Parvati said. "But have no fear, we've brought enough and with re-filling charms we won't run dry."

Ginny drained her glass in one and said, "Well, let's go make some cocktails then!"

Since the last time Hermione looked, it seemed as though there were twice as many people in the room as before. She recognized various faces from other houses—Ernie MacMillian, Hannah Abbott and Susan Bones were all standing talking with a couple of Ravenclaws. Pansy Parkinson, was fiddling with a large radio which she hadn't noticed before. Around her were other Slytherins, Blaise Zabini, Theo Nott and Draco Malfoy. Her eyes lingered on Malfoy who was lounging back against the chair, a drink in his hand talking with the others. Neville, Dean and Seamus playing exploding snap on a low table, with Harry and Ron watching. Hermione caught their eye and beckoned them over.

"Harry! Ron!"

"Want a drink?" Hermione asked, a bit flushed.

"Blimey Hermione, what's gotten into you?"

Her face fell, and she felt her cheeks go bright red.

"Oh Ron…" Ginny turned around and was giving him an exasperated glare.

"What? Can't I ask a question?" Ron said, defensively.

Harry cut across him and said, "I'll have a firewhiskey, if you've got any."

"Sure."

Hermione turned around and walked over to where the bottles were, grateful for something to do. Ron, who had a knack for making blunt comments, had poked her right in her weak spot. Sure, she had resolved to be more outgoing and tonight was the night that she would do it, but it didn't help when he had to go and point out the obvious. It made it seem like she was trying too hard.

She rooted through the drinks cabinet and found an unopened bottle of Odgen's Olde Firewhiskey. She opened it and poured out a reasonable amount into a short tumbler. Then, with a quick thought, she asked the Room for a bucket of ice. Immediately, an ornately detailed silver ice bucket appeared, large enough for the champagne and other drinks. She grabbed a couple of ice cubes from it and put them in the drink. She looked up and saw Harry there, watching her. She gave him a smile and said,

"Here you go."

"Thanks, Hermione."

He took a tentative sip, and said looking at her meaningfully,

"You know Ron didn't mean it like that, right?"

She turned her back to him as she put away the bottle.

"I don't know what you mean."

"Hermione, come on. He only meant that you look nice, that's all. Don't be cross with him."

"Oh I'm not really. He just sometimes says exactly what I wished he wouldn't sometimes."

Harry didn't say anything, but he needn't have.

The pair of them walked over to Ginny and Ron, who had been joined by Lavender and Parvati. Hermione noted the way Lavender was looking at Ron, fluttering her eyelashes and all and surmised that Lavender had zeroed in on who she wanted this evening.

If this had been a couple years ago, Hermione would have definitely minded. But as it was, she really didn't feel any jealousy. Ron was just a friend now. She regarded Ron, wondering what had changed in her to stop liking him. Perhaps it was just time. She could see why someone would be attracted to him; he was funny, tall and good-looking. He was also on the Quidditch team. But he wasn't for her anymore.

Just then, loud music erupted from the corner when the four Slytherins were, and Hermione saw a grin spread across Pansy's face as loud thumping music pumped through the speakers. She grabbed Theo Nott's hand and pulled him up to dance with her. Ginny immediately grabbed Harry, who protested but followed Ginny regardless.

That left Hermione, Parvati, Ron and Lavender standing together.

"Ron, I was just telling Parvati how great you did in the last match against Ravenclaw" Lavender said, getting his attention, "do you think you'll want to play after Hogwarts?"

Hermione had no interest in listening Lavender simper at Ron, so she pointedly said to Parvati,

"Want to get another drink?"

"Gods yes."

The pair of them left Ron proudly regaling to Lavender his star moments on the Quidditch team. Hermione followed Parvati over to the cabinet and reached for two shot glasses. Without a word, Parvati poured out two shots of gin and the two Gryffindors took the shots together. Hermione grimaced, but the champagne was catching up with her, and it wasn't as bad as it could have been.

Parvati poured out another shot and made to do another for Hermione, but she said, covering her shot glass, "I'm actually just going to stick with champagne for now."

"Suit yourself." Parvati said, shrugging. She then knocked back another one.

"You don't have any feelings for Ron, right?"

Hermione had been looking over her shoulder, but looked back at Parvati when the dark haired girl had said that.

"God no."

"Good, since I believe Lavender isn't going to be deterred…"

Hermione glanced over and saw Lavender and Ron cozily sitting in a loveseat in particularly dark corner of the room.

"Right, well then." Hermione said decisively. "More champagne, I think."

Parvati grinned and passed her the bottle.

"Seems to be going well." Hermione said, commenting on the general party atmosphere as she poured another drink for herself. She had quite lost count at this point, and it was certainly getting to her.

As Hermione looked around, it seemed to her that more people had slipped into the room. There were students grouped all around and Hermione couldn't see the other end of the room because of all the people. Pansy had started a small dance floor area, and people were dancing in the corner where the radio was. Hermione vaguely recognized the music as some wizarding band.

"So, what do you want to do after Hogwarts? It's kind of crazy that we just have one more term left here." Hermione said, fiddling with her glass.

After a moment, Parvati said, "I thought I might take a stab at being a journalist. I think I'd like the change of scenery, different people and new topics."

Hermione smiled up at Parvati. "I can see you being good at that."

"Thanks, I hope so. What about you though? I bet you have it all worked out."

And the truth was she did to some extent. She wanted to intern at the Ministry, in the Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures. She thought she'd get her foot in there and work her way up. But, for some reason, her confidence in her decision was slipping away. The fact that she was uncertain was eating away at her, too. It wasn't as if her interest in S.P.E.W. was dissolving—she still felt very attached to working for house-elf rights. But there was something off however, and she couldn't put her finger on it. She tried to articulate these feelings to Parvati and in doing so, seemed to make her doubts more concrete.

"I do, but I'm not sure if I want to follow through with them anymore."

Parvati put down her drink and looked intently at Hermione.

"What's changed?"

"I honestly don't know."

"I'm sure it will sort itself out." Parvati said kindly. And with that, Parvati got up to go find Lavender who had her lighter. Hermione sipped her champagne despondently. She didn't know why all of a sudden she was rethinking her post-Hogwarts career, but she was in any case. Hermione didn't really want to think about it regardless, her uncertainty was bringing her down a bit. She poured out another glass of champagne and sat there drinking it.

After a while, she scanned the room, looking for someone to take her mind off her thoughts. She couldn't see Ginny anywhere, but imagined that she and Harry were off somewhere. _The happy couple_, she thought bitterly. A lanky Ravenclaw lurched forward, accompanied by his friends, towards the other side of the room laughing drunkenly. As they moved, Hermione had a clear view of Parvati who was entwined around some Hufflepuff on a couch in the corner. It seemed as though Parvati had gotten distracted from getting her lighter from Lavender.

Without another thought, Hermione reached for a bottle of dusty Bordeaux from the high cabinet. It seemed as though Parvati and Lavender had gotten a ranging assortment of wine and liquor, which she was thankful for. She had a sniff at a bottle of vodka once and never thought that she'd ever want to ingest something that smelled like rubbing alcohol. Her parents were fond of having the occasional glass of wine with dinner, and they had started letting Hermione have a bit over last summer. She was welcome to the familiarity the dusty bottle of red wine brought her as she stood up, getting a thin stemmed wine glass. She hesitated for a moment before asking a simple request to the Room, and grabbed the lighter and unopened box of cigarettes before making her way through the crowd to the terrace beyond.

She sat down on a cool stone bench and with a rush realized the affects of the champagne. She set her items down next to her before reaching for the pack. She unwrapped the plastic outer layer, and opened the top flap revealing twenty something cigarettes lined up neatly. She felt so alive at that moment, her heart racing at the thought of anyone catching the Head Girl smoking.

She'd seen people smoke in films, so she put the white, filtered end between her lips and attempted to light the other end. But it just wouldn't go. She couldn't manage to get a proper purchase against the ridged metal wheel however ardently she tried. She sighed in frustration and removed the cigarette from her mouth. She leaned back on the ledge of the wall and closed her eyes in defeat. She didn't even have her wand on her; she had left it in her robe so she couldn't even do it by magic. The affects of the drinks she'd so far consumed had finally caught up with her, and she felt herself bask in the lightheaded feeling.

"Need a light?"

She opened her eyes and noted the white blond hair, the high cheek bones and prominent jaw of whoever it was. Then, it all came together and Draco Malfoy was there looking quite bemused holding a lighter.

"Thanks. I couldn't get it to work."

The exposed flame of his lighter washed his face in a yellowish light as Hermione leaned in and lit the end of her cigarette. She tentatively inhaled and let the smoke fill her lungs. She didn't mind the smell much she discovered.

Draco lit up a second later and sat down next to her in the semi darkness.

"What are you smoking?"

Hermione looked down at the box of cigarettes. It was a white box with a green emblem on the front.

"Marlboro Menthol Light. Want one?"

He took a cigarette from the proffered box and lit up with a practiced click. His cheeks hollowed as he inhaled and the end of the cigarette glowed bright orange. Hermione watched the tendrils of smoke dance in the air between them. Hermione took another drag and inhaled again so the smoke filled her lungs. She closed her eyes again, letting the haze claim her again. She opened her eyes and saw that he was staring intently at her.

"Sorry, I think I'm a bit drunk."

Draco smiled and chuckled.

"How about you open that bottle next to you, and we can get properly drunk."

Hermione smiled and with a quick request, a bottle opener appeared along with a second wine glass. She stubbed out her cigarette and grabbed the opener and quickly set to work on the cork. With a pop, and a satisfied grin she began pouring out two generous amounts into the glasses in front of her.

Draco held up his glass to her and said with a wicked grin, "Here's to getting absolutely hammered."

"Cheers." Hermione giggled and took a sip.

"So why were you out here, all by yourself?"

"I needed some air." Hermione said. Then after a pause she added, "I don't think I'm much of a party person."

"Neither am I; I just come for the free wine and to watch my friends make fools of themselves."

"And how are they doing tonight?"

"Reasonably well the last time I checked. But who knows, Pansy's just getting started."

Hermione hesitated before saying, "I saw her dancing with Nott. I thought you and Pansy were, you know…"

Draco laughed and took another sip of his wine. "Pansy and I were never anything. She would have liked that but I think she's finally understood that I'm not going to change my mind so she's channeled her energies in a different direction…"

"Oh." She paused.

"Well all my friends have paired off, leaving me alone." Hermione said, and then added huffily, "Arseholes."

"Yes, I saw Brown and Weasley together. And forgive me— but I thought that you and him…"

Hermione looked at Draco surprised.

"Well I thought me and Ron too at some point too, but not now though."

Draco reached out and ran his hand down the side of her face. "Well I think Weasley's mad to take a pass on you."

He leaned in and hesitantly parted her lips with a kiss. He tasted like the wine he'd been drinking. Draco moved to hold her head between his hands, making sure she couldn't run away. She wrapped her arms around his shoulders, and ran her fingers through his pale blonde hair. Her brain had quite disintegrated, with all her concerns about her future, or anything else for that matter. She let out a breathy moan when Draco tentatively caressed her tongue with his. Something in her spurred her on and she began kissing him back fiercely, wanting to get closer. Draco trailed a hand down the side of her, coming to rest on her waist. He suddenly grabbed her and easily drew her onto his lap. She giggled and pulled back to catch her breath, resting her forehead on his.

She lifted her lids and looked at his eyes, staring back at her. Draco still had his hands on either side of her neck, and the warmth from his hands seemed to liquefy her bones. He brought her to him again, and began possessively reclaiming her mouth once more.

They broke apart some time later, and returned into the Room. Draco had lit up another cigarette and done another for Hermione. The scene before them was quite subdued; the music had been changed from fast-tempoed beats to some British muggle band which Hermione mildly recognized. Everyone seemed to have left already, apart from a couple people huddled around talking. But it seemed as if everyone was in the process of making their respective ways back to their common rooms. Hermione looked up at the clock and saw that it was nearly two in the morning.

There were a couple of new additions to the Room. Next to the main door leading back into the castle were two doors clearly marked as washrooms. There were a couple of other doors around the room which Hermione guessed contained couples who didn't want to be disturbed. It was easy to tell because a sign on one said, "Don't open this door unless you want to be hexed with the Curse of the Bogies."

Random objects littered the room, likely the requests of the Room's drunken occupants. There was a pool table, which at least made sense, but next to that on a coffee table was a large stone bust of Merlin, with a spectacular handle bar mustache attached to it. A rather large muggle children's paddling pool sat in the corner where the radio was. Little orange and yellow plastic ducks sat in the foot high water along with, Hermione had to take a closer look to be sure, but real, actual quacking ducks. There was water all over the floor next to it and a rug had been dragged aside and sat sopping wet by the wall.

"What in fresh hell has been going on here…?"

Just as Draco said that, Blaise Zabini launched himself up off a nearby couch and stalked over to where Hermione and Draco stood.

"Draco, you absolute twat, you were supposed to watch out for Theo. You know how he gets when presented with a bottle of firewhiskey."

"Fuck off Blaise, I'm not his babysitter."

"Well he's absolutely hammered and not capable of getting back to the dormitory without help."

"Oh let's just leave him here. He'll just sleep it off and stumble back in the morning."

"Draco!" Hermione said indignantly. "You can't just leave your friend here drunk."

Blaise looked at her, then back to Draco, with a sudden realization sparking on his face.

"You two, what were you up to out there?" Blaise said, forgetting about his drunken friend.

Hermione blushed bright pink and Draco said sharply, "None of your business, Blaise."

There was movement from beside the door and Hermione noticed that it was Parvati. She was rummaging around on the floor, trying to find her robe in the midst of everyone's robes which had fallen to the ground at some point during the night's events. Hermione turned to look at Draco, and laid a hand on his arm.

"Listen, I'm going to go. I think Parvati's in a similar state to Theo."

He glanced over at Parvati before saying, "Alright." He turned to Blaise and gave his friend a meaningful look.

"Blasie, why don't you go get Theo ready, I'll be over in a minute."

Blasie smirked but didn't reply and sauntered off to where Theo was lying on a couch.

"So." Draco said, turning to Hermione.

Hermione looked up into his face, and acted on an impulse. She wrapped her arms around his neck and brought him down and kissed him full on the mouth. She broke it off after a moment, leaving Draco looking quite dazed.

"I'll see you later," she said, disentangling herself from his embrace and pecked him on the lips once more.

"Damn right you will." Draco said, giving her a look which made her heart start beating madly.

"Bye then." Hermione said, though she didn't want to move at all. She would have gladly stayed and continued to snog him senseless. But she turned away regardless and made her way over to Parvati.

Parvati was thankfully very nearly sober when Hermione went over to her. When they had found their robes, Hermione had the idea to ask the room for a door leading right into the corridor with the Portrait of the Fat Lady. She pulled on her robe and disappeared through the door out into the seventh floor corridor, following Parvati.

* * *

What did you think? I spent a lot of time writing this chapter, I hope that comes across. Please, please, please review!


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